If you enjoyed their debut offering ‘Guts, Graves and Blasphemy ‘ then you’ll love the latest offering ‘Cults, Crypts and Corpses’ from the Polish Black ’n’ Thrash Hardcore quartet ‘Mentor’.
‘Cults, Crypts and Corpses’ picks up where ‘Guts, Graves and Blasphemy‘ left off. “It’s a continuation of the ideas on our debut album”, comments vocalist King of Nothing. “Short, heavy and fast. Ten tracks without filler clocking in at thirty minutes. The lyrics are about witches, crypts, serial killers and Satan. Simply put, rock ‘n’ roll with the devil in the background.”
Although ‘Cults, Crypts and Corpses’ is their second album, the quartet are also seasoned musicians from Black Metal outfits Thaw and Furia and Southern Stoner band J.D. Overdrive and their expertise shows , with the band aiming and succeeding in delivering an unholy chunk of raw, animalistic, no frills or fills, Satanic Hardcore Black ‘n’ Thrash that’ll pin you to the wall and sear the flesh from your face, a well constructed short sharp shock release with some pretty slick direction and tempo switches, an abundance of dirty riffs and a pummelling yet groovy delivery with a decidedly addictive edge.
I particularly enjoyed the dark humour woven into the content alongside more serious and sinister elements, lyrically the content is delivered with a raw, harsh clarity and I guarantee these lyrics will raise a wry and evil smile on your face as well as a feeling of unease.
It’s a great listen end to end , predominantly rapid tempo and exuding excitement as well as drawing you in and simultaneously repelling you with the unnervingly delightful content, but a few highlights for me were the opener ‘We Dig’ warns of the perils of digging up an infernal human devouring monster, ‘Sometimes Dead is Better’ about a pet cemetery, ‘Tub of Toxic Waste’ explores that fascinating subject of creating a mutant army with toxic waste, let’s face it, you know you want one and there’s even a song dedicated to me, ‘Churchburner Girl’ I’m joking of course ….. and ‘Gut Bucket’ outlines a special type of low life and how we’d secretly love to deal with them.
In and amongst this high energy intensity there are also a couple of different tracks that deserve an extra mention , the sinister ‘Up in The Bell Tower’ whose dirty dark riffs are complemented by an equally dirty and distorted closing solo that has a great feel to it as well as being a little different from the predecessors but if you want something very different you’ll get that with the closing piece ‘Gather by the Grave’ it’s heavier and darker and more reckless that a drunken rhino in an unlit alleyway but with a sweet , slightly psychedelic, good rocking groove, with a few brutal chunks dropped in for good measure, a real surprise of a closing track that reflects the J.D. Overdrive influence.
‘Cults, Crypts and Corpses’ should appeal to fans of Kvelertak, High on Fire, Clutch, Skeletonwitch, Black Tusk or even … The Kandidate, the first band to spring to mind on my first listen, recorded, mixed and mastered at Satanic Audio, artwork and layout by Branca Studio (Angel Witch, Cirith Ungol, Pentagram, The Black Dahlia Murder) and out on Pagan Records. It’s an album we can all relate to, so go check it out!
Rating: 4 ½ / 5
Find this one right here!
https://paganrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cults-crypts-and-corpses
The Metal Wanderlust 